The Rat Whisperer
by DiscordantPrincess
Summary: Ratigan takes Felicia to Fluttershy's to get groomed. While there, the cat unleashes a bunch of rats, and chaos ensues. One-shot.


**Rainbow Dash: Hey there, bronies and pegasisters! Hope you're ready to read another AWESOME DiscordantPrincess story, because this one is totally RADICAL!**

**Thanks, RD! (brohoof) I knew you'd make my intro 20% cooler!**

**Anyways, I have for you another installment of my "Ratti in Ponyville" collection! This one is dedicated to three awesome authors: FairyTales And Pixie Dust (who gave me the idea), ShiningShadow1965, and Cellenia. Thanks, you guys! Hope y'all enjoy!**

It was a sunny day in the town of Ponyville. In a little cottage fashioned from a tree, Fluttershy, a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and tail, blue-green eyes and a cutie mark of three pink-winged butterflies was fluttering about her cottage, tidying things up.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. "Hello! Fluttershy? Are you home?" a stallion's voice called.

Fluttershy smiled as she recognized the voice as belonging to her dear friend Padraic Ratigan. "I'll be right there!" She ran over to the door and opened it...then screamed.

The gray earth pony was a mess. He had red scratches all over his face, his neck, his chest, his upper back and his forelegs. His black mane, usually neat, was an absolute mess. His gold eyes were narrowed, his ears flattened against his head. He did not look happy one bit. On his back he was carrying a plump tawny-furred cat, who looked every bit as annoyed and unhappy as her owner did.

"Oh my goodness! Padraic, are you all right? What happened to you?" Fluttershy asked.

"I was trying to give Felicia a bath, but she wouldn't let me near her with the soap," Ratigan explained. "Rarity has told me time and time again how you're the only pony who can get Opal to take a bath, so I was wondering, if you weren't too busy, if you could work your magic with my PAIN IN THE FLANK cat." As he said "pain in the flank," he looked straight at Felicia, who just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, of course! I'm never too busy to help a friend," Fluttershy replied. "Please, come in."

"Thank you, Fluttershy, you're a dear," Ratigan told her as he walked in behind her. Once he was inside, the yellow pegasus carefully scooped the cat off of Ratigan's back and set her down on the floor. "Now you wait here and be a good girl, Felicia Wisha. I'll be right with you after I've tended to your master's ouchies."

"You really don't have to, I can just go over to Nurse Redheart," Ratigan replied.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, those scratches look bad, they could get infected if they don't get treated right away," Fluttershy offered. With that, she picked the earth pony up and flew him to her treatment area.

First, she took a wet washcloth, lathered it up and washed the scratches. Next, she rubbed anti-biotic cream on the wounded areas, although at a few points of this step she had to hold her patient down so he wouldn't buck her across the room. Lastly, she covered them with bandages. "There we go. Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" she cooed.

"Other than the stinging cream and the fact that I look like a mummy from the waist up, no, it wasn't so bad," Ratigan admitted.

Suddenly, there was a crash from the next room. "Huh?" The two ponies ran into the room and nearly screamed at what they saw. Felicia was on top of a table. Next to her was a cage with a now-open door. And about three dozen rats of various colors and sizes were scurrying around the room.

"Oh dear!" Fluttershy reacted. She flew to catch one of the rats. "Please, everyone! Stay still! I won't hurt you, I just want you to get back to your cage!"

Ratigan smacked his hoof against his face. "For Celestia's sake, Felicia, can't I leave you alone for five minutes without you getting into trouble?" Just then, he noticed that the cat had a rat tail hanging out of her mouth. "Felicia, release it NOW!" The cat glared at him but obeyed, spitting out a small white rat, which Ratigan caught in his forehoof before it hit the floor.

"Oh, Gorgonzola!" Fluttershy cried out, taking the rat from her friend and cuddling it to her face. "Oh, thank goodness you're all right, little guy!" She put him back in the cage and shut the door. "OK, that's one down...thirty-five to go." She flew after the rats, but they wouldn't stay still. "Oh, please, Cheddar. Brie. Mozzarella. Edam." She whimpered. "Oh, they're not listening to me. Please, Padraic, will you help me?"

"I'll try," Ratigan answered. He dashed after a rat. "Here, ratty, ratty, ratty. Come here, please." The rat scurried away.

Just then, a few of the rats stood still in their tracks. Then, more did. Finally, they all stood still. And they were all looking at Ratigan. "What the...all right, this is getting a bit uncomfortable." He started to walk away, but the rats flocked to him, crawling onto his body. "AAAUUUGH! Get off of me, you furry plague germs!"

"Oh my, they really seem to like you," Fluttershy noticed. Just then, she had an idea. "Come with me, please." She picked up her friend, brushing the rats off, then carried him out of the room.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two ponies returned. However, Ratigan was now dressed in a large gray rat suit, a sour look on his face. "I cannot BELIEVE I am dressed like a giant rat! Why on Earth do you even HAVE a giant rat costume?"

"Just for emergencies," Fluttershy explained. "I also have a red-eyed tree frog costume, if you're ever interested."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." Ratigan groaned. "All right, let's get this over with." He got down on his belly and started crawling around the room, making a squeaking sound. The rats were very interested and followed the large newcomer. As they did, Fluttershy scooped each up and put them in the cage with Gorgonzola, until finally, she had caught all of the rats and put them back. "Yay! Oh, thank you, Padraic! You're so wonderful!" She hugged him.

Ratigan glared at her. "Let us never speak of this again."

* * *

After a bit, Ratigan had taken off the rat costume and was now sitting in the waiting room as Fluttershy bathed Felicia, reading a newspaper, a pair of reading glasses perched on his snout. Just as he was finishing reading a story about the possibility of a new book in the Daring Do series being published, Fluttershy came in, carrying a clean and fluffy Felicia. "Here she is, fresh and clean. And here's a treat for being such a good little grooming patient." She grabbed a small fish and tossed it to the cat, who caught it in her mouth and gobbled it down.

"Thank you so much, Fluttershy," Ratigan told the pegasus. "Felicia looks better than I've ever seen her before. And thank you for not being mad over her causing such chaos."

"Oh, it's fine," Fluttershy replied. "She was just hungry."

Ratigan smiled and put Felicia back on his back. "Thank you again." He turned for the door. "Remember...we shall never speak of it again, _oui_?"

"What happens at Fluttershy's, stays at Fluttershy's," the pegasus agreed.

**Oh man, I think I just LOL'ed and squeed at the same time! Fluttershy, y u so cute?**

**Hee hee, even as a pony Ratigan don't like rats...I don't know why, I love rats, they're so cute and intelligent and adaptable to almost any surroundings! **

**Just so we're clear, I am NOT trying to imply that Ratti and Felicia have a bad relationship in the MLP universe, but as any pet owner knows, even the most lovable and beloved pets can aggravate you at times (I myself am the proud mommy of a very energetic bichon frise who lives at my parents' house while I'm at school and who likes to tear apart anything he can get his mouth on!) **

**Thanks for reading, my friends! Please R&R!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


End file.
